


A Hunter is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides

by Mafy_mod



Series: You're My Bounty [3]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: "hate" will eventually lead to "love", Akashi and his unorthodox plans, Alternate Universe - Bounty Hunters, Assassination Attempt(s), Blood and Violence, Light Angst, M/M, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-27 02:10:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18729589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mafy_mod/pseuds/Mafy_mod
Summary: Everyone has a secret, everyone has something they fear to be known.Kuroko Tetsuya is just like everyone in that regard. But maybe he built his walls too high and now Akashi Seijuurou is a bit too set into tearing them down. Kuroko's secrets, however, are not to the light side and knowing about them may bring more change to them than either of the two expects.





	1. A Hunter is not what he thinks he is

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone! Mafy's here~
> 
> I know so many people are excited to have more of our sadistic Bounty Hunter Akashi and his adorable thief, Kuroko. I occasionally like to grant wishes XD (nah, it's really because I bumped into a bit of a rut when it comes to By Blood and Iron so I decided to give it a small break >.>) *cough* Anyway, I hope you enjoy one more part of the You're My Bounty series!

Secrets – who doesn’t have them? Everyone has something that they don’t want anyone to see or know. Something that must be kept hidden away, locked up deep inside; sometimes out of fear, sometimes out of shame.

 

And who wouldn’t fear to become a target of hatred by those closest to them? Who wouldn’t feel like a shameless mongrel due to their own filth and darkness? Who wouldn’t feel that a dirty secret is better than a dirty life?

 

What they don’t know won’t kill them – who had been the foolish person which housed such naïve thoughts?

 

There’s nothing deadlier than a secret. There’s nothing deadlier than those able to do anything to keep the filth in the dark insides of their past.

 

-.-

 

Tick tock. Tick tock. There was someone behind his bedroom’s door. Tick tock. Tick tock. The latch of the door’s lock had soundlessly moved, only the soft scratching of the key exiting the hole once again echoing in the dark room.

 

Tick tock. Tick tock. The door opened. Tick tock. Tick tock. The door closed. There hadn’t been any sound and the footsteps were performed as silently.

 

Tick tock. Tick tock.

 

Tick tock.

 

They are approaching – wake up!

 

“…!” With a startle, Kuroko Tetsuya opened his teal eyes wide and lunged one of his hands forward, taking a hold of the clothes of the being leaning over his laid sleeping position. His other hand readily grabbed the handle of the knife positioned underneath his pillow. Kuroko thrust the knife in the assailant’s direction – no hesitation, no second thoughts as the sharp blade got closer and closer to their face. His body, however, was suddenly pulled out of the bed when the assailant forcibly withdrew their own body from near the bed, soon falling backwards in the hard wooden floor.

 

“This is the 19th time since the school opening that you’ve nearly killed me, Tetsuya,” chuckled Akashi Seijuurou, an amused smirk on his lips as he looked up to the bluenette sitting down on top of him. He took a sideways glance and found the blade of the knife dangerously close to his features. He would have bet that a few of his red strands of hair had been cut off the moment the knife was stabbed on the wood.

 

“If you learned once and for all to stop sneaking inside of my bedroom, there would have been a single attempt for you to hold against me,” deadpanned Kuroko, straightening his body just the slightest as he released the handle of the knife. He then motioned the hand forward and stopped it right in front of Akashi’s face. “Please return my bedroom’s key.”

 

“This is actually the master key of this dorm, it’s not necessarily your bedroom’s,” confessed Akashi, returning his heterochromatic gaze to the bluenette.

 

“Then you don’t necessarily need to invade my bedroom every single day, do you?” pointed out Kuroko, a masked sigh exiting his mouth as he got up and removed his body’s weight from on top of Akashi. He couldn’t even be bothered anymore, to be honest, so all he did was certify himself that he stepped Akashi in the worst right spot possible on his way to his wardrobe. The redhead’s pained groans had pretty much become his alarm clock as of late.

 

“You’ve missed the first two classes of the morning period for the tenth time this month,” said Akashi, one of his hands softly massaging his stomach, right above the kidney that had been painfully squashed by the bluenette’s heel. “The headmaster wants to see you in his office. He didn’t say an hour so I’m sure he meant that you should show up there as soon as you wake up.”

 

“…” Kuroko looked sideways to his clock and noticed that it was well past the time for classes to start. It was actually already so late that lunch break was about to start. “Shouldn’t you be in your own classes right now, Akashi-kun?”

 

“I’ve been exempted from middle school level math classes since they were far too simple for me,” said Akashi, giving a quick shrug with his shoulders. “As such, math classes have become free period for me for the next three years, which I can use for my own personal development in any way I see fit.”

 

“Please use your 2nd time of free period for productive things, then,” sighed Kuroko, softly rolling his eyes around as he gathered his school uniform on his arm and then closed the wardrobe’s door. “I don’t think that scaring me half to death will be very helpful for your future job.”

 

“I believe I was the one closest to death here,” scoffed Akashi, pointing with his thumb to the knife still standing erect in the wooden floor. “You have had quite creative and original ways to nearly get me killed throughout these last two months, but this was the first time you actually attacked me with a weapon. I don’t think I’m scary enough to force you to sleep with a knife underneath your pillow.”

 

“I meant to use it as a warning only,” said Kuroko, avoiding looking in Akashi’s direction as he passed by him and motioned to the bathroom attached to his bedroom, so as to get ready for the remaining classes in the afternoon period. That and yet another admonishment session by the headmaster and Nijimura Shuuzou, his main instructor. “But you really ended up scaring me this time around, Akashi-kun, so I ended up using it against you. I’m sorry.”

 

“…” Akashi nothing said as he observed Kuroko step inside of the bathroom and close the door behind himself. The sound of water raining down soon flooded the silent bedroom.

 

 _I’m starting to think that you’re actually a bad liar, Tetsuya,_ inwardly said Akashi, leaning his upper body forward and ripping the knife stabbed in the floor. _That wasn’t the face of someone that knew I was going to pay another unannounced visit. It was the face of someone that knew that death was going to pay an announced visit._

 

With the knife on his hand, Akashi returned to near the messy bed and took a hold of the pillow. He neatly placed the knife back on the place from where it had been unsheathed, the pillow once again caging it against the mattress.

 

_What is it that scares you so much, Tetsuya? What is it that you’re hiding?_

 

-.-

 

Kuroko took a deep breath as he readied himself to knock on the headmaster’s office’s door. He had managed to shoo Akashi away with the promise of having lunch together with him in the usual table of the cafeteria, as soon as he finished his conversation with Shirogane Kouzou. He regretted having parted ways with Akashi so soon now; he by far welcomed a conversation with him than the constant insecurity over what sort of discussion was about to happen in the office.

 

In his own way, Kuroko had grown fond of Akashi’s stalking behaviour – a feat he had thought impossible two months ago, after he had woken up from his KOed lost entrance ceremony match and found Akashi Seijuurou, who he had spared against in a contest to earn a bedroom in the dorms, right on top of him.

 

 _Scratch that,_ inwardly grumbled Kuroko, twisting his nose a little bit at his reminiscing thoughts. _Maybe I should start stepping on his groin from now on because that ‘Why don’t you become my possession? If you’re one of my belongings, no one would complain about you being inside of that bedroom with me’ still pisses me off._

 

Kuroko might have lost the match against Akashi and, with it, lost the right to stay in that particular bedroom of the dorm, but having lost that test hadn’t proved itself to be a penalty strong enough to earn him an expulsion from the Bounty Hunter Academy. Match won or lost, it wouldn’t change what led him to that school in the first place.

 

With a soft knock, Kuroko made his presence finally announced. “Shirogane-san, it’s Kuroko Tetsuya. May I come in?”

 

The headmaster’s voice wasn’t heard but the door was open nevertheless.

 

“You sure enjoy making people wait, don’t you, Kuroko?” said Nijimura, a vein salient in his forehead as he smiled at the bluenette. His eyes were as wrathful as a demon’s, however.

 

“I’m sorry…” apologised Kuroko, offering a deep bow to both Nijimura and Shirogane as soon as he stepped inside of the headmaster’s office and closed the door behind himself.

 

“Take a seat, Kuroko,” offered Shirogane, gesturing to one of the individual sofas around a square coffee table. Shirogane was already sitting comfortably in another of the individual sofas and it seemed that another of them had been claimed by Nijimura, by the looks of the two sets of coffee cups placed on top of the table.

 

Kuroko silently did as he was told.

 

“At the rate this is going, you are going to flunk all of your morning classes due to absence,” announced Shironage, cutting straight to the point after having taken a small gulp of his beverage. “You are also behind in all of the afternoon classes, as most of them are a continuation of the teaching from the morning classes, in a roundabout way. You won’t make it to the end of this semester, much less to graduation day.”

 

“…”

 

“Should I try to arrange your schedule so that your classes are pushed further to the afternoon and occupy part of the night time?” suggested Shirogane, after exchanging a glance with Nijimura due to their student’s silence.

 

“You don’t need to go to such lengths, Shirogane-san,” finally said Kuroko, whipping his head up and staring straight to Shirogane with a serious demeanour. “I shouldn’t even be a student in this school anymore. Please don’t open even more exceptions for me. I clearly don’t deserve them.”

 

“It doesn’t matter if you deserve them or not,” readily cut off Shirogane, though still as softly and warmly as usual. “The moment you sent your application to this school and then received the letter of acceptance to take the exams, you were already being an exception. No matter what sort of good you do with your life, you’re still going to continue being an exception. That’s the kind of life you need to get used to if being a Bounty Hunter is the path you want to follow.”

 

“I-I know but…” acknowledged Kuroko, stuttering just the slightest as he gulped down hard. “But I don’t want to have preferential treatment because of my family circumstances. It’s not fair for the other students.”

 

“Knowing that you think of it as such really sets my heart at ease, Kuroko,” said Shironage, his smile stretching further in his features. Nijimura was also nodding his head in acknowledgement. “I know that it will hurt you to do so, but you need to swallow that strong and just pride of yours a little bit. Your family circumstances are akin to the called a matter of national security. You being a student in the Bounty Hunter Academy is the best kind of surveillance we can put you under, as you’re constantly surrounded by people who would know what to do if some sort of incident were to happen. However, I, as the headmaster of this school, have opened an exception to the century-long rules and ceremonies of this timeless institution by allowing you to stay here even after having lost your match against Akashi Seijuurou. Making an exception and allow you to remain here when you have failing grades is an impossible stretch of my good will. I may be the headmaster, but I’m not the only one who has the power to make big decisions here. I hope you can have this in consideration at all times, throughout the next six years.”

 

“Yes…” acknowledged Kuroko with a small nod of his head.

 

“Nijimura, which are the 1st year’s classes that can be switched around at convenience?” inquired Shirogane, now switching his gaze to the instructor in question.

 

“He won’t have any problem as far as it concerns my classes,” readily said Nijimura, throwing a small reassuring smile at Kuroko. “As his main instructor, I’m in charge of most of his practical classes when it comes to the arts of defence and attack. As long as it’s not too late in the night, I don’t think other instructors will mind much either. I think the biggest challenge will be the theoretical classes. If Kuroko was an honour student, they would be more than glad to open him an exception and give him some one-on-one classes in the afternoon. But I doubt they will concede, with his current grades.”

 

“Yes, that will most likely be the case,” acknowledged Shirogane after having released a soft sigh. He knew very well how cranky and prideful the theoretical teachers could be when it came to their working schedules – one of the reasons why theoretical classes occupied the morning period, actually. “Kuroko, what is it that makes you oversleep every single morning? Are you having some troubles falling asleep? Or is there something going on at night that we’re not aware of?”

 

“Ah… Um…” Kuroko gulped down hard at that question. Within reasonable means, Kuroko had always tried to be as honest as possible when talking with both Shirogane and Nijimura. They were the only two people inside of the Bounty Hunter Academy that were aware of his origins and previous life practices, it was only fair of him to properly answer to the trust they displayed towards him. “I… can’t sleep at night.”

 

“Insomnias?” inquired Nijimura, an eyebrow slightly arched at hearing that answer. It wasn’t a very usual sleep disorder for such an early age, but given his feeble student status within the school, it wasn’t all that weird. “We can ask the school nurse to prescribe you some sleeping pills until you can successfully fall asleep on your own.”

 

“No, that’s not it, Nijimura-san,” said Kuroko, softly shaking his head in denial. “I’m unable to sleep during night time. As I was growing up, I was told that night was the only time of the day when I was forbidden to sleep. It was exclusively reserved for working hours and I obviously had to be in perfect thinking capabilities so that no mistake was done. I was also told that it was the time of the day where there was the biggest probability of being attacked while completely defenceless. After doing it throughout all of my life, I can’t bring myself to fall asleep when the moon is out. I know that I’m relatively safe while inside of the dorm or any other part of this school but I… still can’t fall asleep.”

 

 _One more proof that nurture can win against nature when all the right conditions meet,_ grievously said Shirogane in the back of his head. _Or should I go as far as call it wrong conditions?_

 

“I see,” said Shirogane with a short nod of his head. “Well, in regards to your practical classes, I believe we have already found ourselves a solution. As for the theoretical classes, by which I mean the morning classes, maybe you should try to find yourself someone who can provide you with some tutoring. If you can raise your grades exponentially while still missing your classes, the teachers may be more willing to change their usual morning schedule to the afternoon. They are quite known to spoil the good students, going as far as to exempt some of them if they already exceed the subject and they fear they will be turned into an object of ridicule by the said student.”

 

 _Akashi-kun, what exactly have you been doing during your math classes?,_ inwardly wondered Kuroko, his demeanour going completely expressionless.

 

“Wait,” interrupted Nijimura out of the blue, a large frown creasing his brows. “What did you mean by ‘relatively safe’ just now, Kuroko?”

 

Kuroko strongly bit his lower lip. He had hoped that none of the two had noticed that little detail. But he should have known better than that. He should have known better than that and should have learned by now how perceptive those two experienced Bounty Hunters were.

 

“It’s been three months since I left without any warning,” explained Kuroko, proud of himself for not having let his voice tremble. “They must have already reached the conclusion that I’ve betrayed them. I know them so I know they have. They’re coming. I know too much, they’ve taught me too much. Even if I’m their son, my parents will come to kill me so I can take their secrets to the grave.”


	2. He is what he hides

With a sigh, Kuroko sat down in one of the tables spread around in the large cafeteria. With him, he had brought a tray with the daily menu – Oyakodon.

 

“How did it go?” inquired Akashi right away, gently picking up the plastic cup that had been sitting on his tray and putting it in the bluenette’s.

 

Silently, as if thinking about what kind of answer he should offer, Kuroko got a hold of the plastic cup and gave a quick slurp to the straw. Vanilla milkshake truly was a healing drink. And it was now confirmed that Akashi truly was still under the misunderstanding that he needed to pay a ‘vanilla milkshake fee’ in order to have lunch with him. It wouldn’t be Kuroko the one clearing that misunderstanding for sure. A free milkshake was worth 100 paid milkshakes.

 

“If you are wondering if I’ve been expelled or put under detention, then no, I have not,” finally answered Kuroko after extending his slurping a little bit far too much, maybe. He put the plastic cup back on his tray and stared in its direction for a good couple of seconds. Maybe… he actually should clear the misunderstanding after all. “Um… Akashi-kun?”

 

“Yes?” said Akashi after having chewed a chunk of the oyakodon that he was also relishing on. Now much more than before, seeing as he had confirmed that Kuroko was still a fellow student.

 

“I… Um… I have a favour to ask you,” hesitantly started Kuroko, taking a hold of his chopsticks and twirling them around with his fingers instead of breaking them apart to begin his lunch. He was about to continue speaking, now that he had undoubtedly caught all of Akashi’s attention, when a cheerful bark cut off his words.

 

“Hey, Tetsu!!” greeted Aomine Daiki, waving one of his hands at the bluenette while carrying a tray with two bowls with the other. He dropped the tray on the seat next to Kuroko and noisily dragged the chair back so as to take a seat there. “Be careful of the favours you ask of Akashi. He’s more of a demon than a genie. You’re better off asking someone else.”

 

“Then, Aomine-kun, could you please tutor me on the morning classes?” deadpanned Kuroko, turning his body slightly around so he could look more closely at the tanned male.

 

“Ah… Yeah, the demon would be the best choice…” grumbled Aomine after having softly cleared his throat. He broke his chopsticks in two and motioned them to one of the bowls but came to a halt at the same time as he gasped loudly. “No, actually there’re other better choices! You could ask Satsuki or Midorima to tutor you.”

 

“Yes, that’s true,” acknowledged Kuroko, pretending to not have noticed the dirty look that Akashi had thrown at Aomine for that comeback. “But Akashi-kun has been exempted from both Math and Law classes so he has more free time to spare than Midorima-kun and Momoi-san.”

 

“Damn, you sure are quick at slaughtering the teachers, Akashi,” said Aomine in the midst of chewing his food. “Which is the next target for you to annihilate near to the point of having the teacher wish they haven’t become one?”

 

“I was thinking Chemistry but I better add Physics and Biology to the list too,” stated Akashi, switching his heterochromatic gaze back to Kuroko so as to smile at him. “Tetsuya has come in search of my free time, I might as well give him as much as I can.”

 

“Thank you very much, Akashi-kun,” deadpanned Kuroko, strongly breaking his chopsticks so as to contain his anger and not break something else in half. “If you don’t remind me every day how much of an honour student you are, I might forget about it since I possess such poor memory.”

 

“Is there a subject that you want to give priority during the tutoring hours?” asked Akashi, inwardly chuckling at the bluenette’s salty words. “Also, which are your actual grades at the moment? I’m asking so that I know what I’m dealing with here.”

 

“I’ve barely attended any of the morning classes, what other than a big, fat zero would I have?” grudgingly grumbled Kuroko, stuffing his mouth with a bit of rice and egg mixture afterwards.

 

“Shit! That’s worse than my grades!” yelped Aomine, nearly choking on his food. “I thought Haizaki and I were the dumbest of the group, but you’ve exceeded my expectations again, Tetsu.”

 

“You’re not helping, Aomine-kun…” groaned Kuroko, feeling like slamming his face against his bowl to hide his current shame.

 

“I’m sorry, Tetsuya, that was a mean question,” said Akashi, motioning his hand forward and softly patting the bluenette’s head. “Taking our mornings into consideration, I should already know what your grade would look like.”

 

“Oh? What’s this, what’s this?” asked Aomine, his body perking up as if something highly interesting had just been revealed. “’Our mornings’? Are you two doing something during the morning that we’re not aware of?”

 

“That’s something meant for me and Tetsuya alone,” answered Akashi, pushing his palm against Kuroko’s mouth when he was about to provide Aomine with his own version of the answer. A smirk slowly started tugging at the corner of his lips. “Right, Tetsuya?”

 

“…”

 

“That’s not fair! I’m Tetsu’s current sparring partner in the afternoon classes!” roared Aomine, grudgingly slamming his closed fists on the table. “I have the right to know what happens in the morning time so I can know how to deal with the afternoon! Yes, he never wins when sparring against me and yeah, he also never won against any of the other students that he sometimes ends up training with but… he gives us hell all the time! Wait… How come you give us hell all the time but still end up losing?”

 

“Because death is easier than victory,” mumbled Kuroko under his breath as he settled his chopsticks back on the tray and pushed his chair backwards, immediately getting up. “I’ve finished my lunch so if you two would excuse me, I need to arrange some matters with Nijimura-san before the afternoon classes start.”

 

“O-Okay,” acknowledged Aomine, slowly raising one of his hands to bid farewell to the bluenette. “I’ll see you later at the usual gym.”

 

Kuroko nothing answered. Akashi also nothing said, only silently observing Kuroko get further and further away a second time that day.

 

-.-

 

A knock on a wooden door gently echoed in the corridor, the loud booming sound of thunder drowning it nearly entirely. Akashi dropped his hand slightly and took a hold of the knob, gently opening the door and stepping inside of the room.

 

“If you are inside, would you please answer when I knock, Nijimura-san?” sighed Akashi, closing the door behind himself before he immediately dived inside of the room and walked towards one of the book-packed bookshelves.

 

“I thought that if I ignored the person knocking, that person would also ignore me once they came in,” answered Nijimura, shrugging his shoulders slightly as he flipped a page of the folder he was reading.

 

“It’s such a sad thing when the world doesn’t work in the way we wish it to, isn’t it?” said Akashi, trying not to roll his eyes around at his instructor’s answer. His mismatched eyes eagerly started searching through the countless folders stored in that room, but both his mouth and head remained focused in Nijimura. “Today, I heard a quite curious thing about you. It seems that the headmaster always assigns you the most promising students every year.”

 

“I thought you had already reached that conclusion on your own, seeing as I’m in charge of the five students that scored in the first five places of the entrance exams,” scoffed Nijimura, letting the side of his face rest on his closed fist at the same time as he flipped another page.

 

“You’re in charge of Tetsuya, though,” pointed out Akashi, removing a folder from one of the shelves and opening it in his hands to check its contents.

 

“Kuroko is a good student,” shortly said Nijimura, still half distracted by his reading material.

 

“Yes, the sort of good student that is flunking all of his morning classes and barely scraping by in the afternoon lessons,” sarcastically acknowledged Akashi, closing the folder with a soft thud.

 

“Akashi, just do as you usually do and go straight to the point, will you?” sighed Nijimura, finally straightening his sitting position and closely looking at the heterochromatic redhead.

 

“Very well,” acknowledged Akashi, quickly putting the folder back in the shelf and walking towards the table that Nijimura was occupying. A bolt of lightning crossed the darkened sky and the large booming of the thunder momentarily joined the strong pitter-patter of rain against the windows. “Why are you Tetsuya’s instructor?”

 

“It’s Shirogane-san, the headmaster, who assigns the instructors to each student so why don’t you ask him that?” asked back Nijimura, an eyebrow slightly arched as he looked straight at those serious mismatched red and golden orbs.

 

“Believe me, I have tried but he always evades my questions,” said Akashi, putting his hands on top of the table and leaning his body forward in the instructor’s direction. “That’s why I’ve settled myself for the second, easier alternative. Why are you Tetsuya’s instructor? No, why is Tetsuya still a student in this school and hasn’t been expelled, like all the other students who lost their match during the opening ceremony? Who is Tetsuya?”

 

“Akashi, as a teacher and instructor, I’m not authorised to discuss matters regarding my students with other students,” sighed Nijimura, crossing his arms over his chest and deepening the small frown on his features. “If you’re that curious about Kuroko, why don’t you continue stalking him? Not a very orthodox approach, in my opinion, but there are loads of friendships that started in weird ways. Maybe one day he’ll answer those questions of yours himself.”

 

“’One day’ is too far away,” said Akashi, a frown also starting to show on his face. “I want to know now.”

 

“Hah! Spoken like a true Akashi,” scoffed Nijimura, rolling his eyes around.

 

“As you’re very well aware, I’ve lost all of my rights within the Akashi household on the day of the entrance ceremony so don’t pile me up with any of them,” warned Akashi, his gaze tightening just the slightest in anger. “And since we’re in the topic… Tetsuya always spends his days off at school, never once did he go visit his family like the rest of the students. He has also never received any phone call during these two months. Is he in the Bounty Hunter Academy due to family reasons?”

 

 _Akashi is too sharp for his own good,_ inwardly cursed Nijimura, trying his best to maintain his expression as answerless as possible. He sighed and returned his eyes to the folder. “I think your second, easier alternative has failed because I’ve said everything I have to say about this matter. Go search for a third, even easier alternative or do as I tell you. Whatever pleases you the most.”

 

“I—“ started Akashi once again but a flash of particularly strong and noisy lightning and thunder cut his words off. A second later, the lamps in the ceiling flickered and then died down, sinking the room in darkness.

 

“Great, we were really in need to have a lightning-fried generator…” groaned Nijimura, strongly closing the folder out of annoyance. He stuffed one of his hands in his pants’ pocket, so as to take his cell phone out, while he continued to grumble and moan to himself. “It’s the end of the week and most teachers and instructors have set off to attend a weekend course… What the fuck am I supposed to do if the whole school’s electric power has been cut off? Why is it always— FUCK!”

 

At hearing that loud curse, Akashi arched an eyebrow and more closely observed Nijimura, trying to discern his expression in the midst of the darkness.

 

“Akashi, come with me,” instructed Nijimura, quickly skirting around the table and giving a short run towards the door. “Check if your phone has any range.”

 

“No, it doesn’t,” answered Akashi after giving a quick check to his cell phone while rushing after Nijimura.

 

“Shit, shit, shit!” cursed Nijimura once again as the two of them ran through the corridor. As they passed by a student, who seemed extremely disoriented in the midst of the sudden power outage, he readily slowed down his pace. “Go back to your bedroom, lock up the door and don’t open it until there’s a general announcement in the speakers telling you to do otherwise. If you pass by any other student, tell them to do the same thing. Now!”

 

“Y-Yes, sir,” stutteringly acknowledged the student, who immediately broke into a run down the corridor.

 

“Nijimura-san, what’s happening?” asked Akashi, a deep frown in his features as he continued running beside the older male.

 

“We’ve got some unwelcomed visits, that’s what’s happening,” cussed Nijimura, lifting his phone and turning the screen towards Akashi – it was blinking in red light with black letters spelling ‘intruders’ in the centre. “We don’t have a lightning-fried generator, someone snapped the wires and cut the electricity throughout the whole school.”

 

“The school is under attack?” inquired Akashi, his eyes opening a little bit more wide in shock. The instructions that Nijimura gave to the frightened student were now starting to make sense.

 

“I wouldn’t go as far as saying ‘the school’ but…” said Nijimura after having clicked his tongue. When they turned on a left, he immediately spotted a familiar group of students. “Midorima, Aomine!”

 

“Nijimura-san!” yelped Momoi Satsuki in a hasty greeting, waving her hand around at both Nijimura and Akashi.

 

“Fess up now, Haizaki! What kind of shit did you do this time?” growled Aomine, keeping the ash-haired male tightly stuck in an arm’s lock.

 

“I haven’t done any shit this time!” yelled Haizaki Shougo, his voice slightly squeaky due to the powerful and painful lock.

 

“Haizaki’s telling the truth, he didn’t do anything this time,” said Nijimura right away, giving a sharp nod of his head to confirm that Aomine could release Haizaki.

 

“What’s happening then?” inquired Midorima Shintarou, quickly adjusting his glasses in the bridge of his nose. Murasakibara Atsushi also stopped eating his potato chips at Nijimura’s answer.

 

“It’s way too long of a story to say right now,” half-heartedly answered Nijimura, his eyes skirting around through their surroundings. He gulped down hard but, even so, he could feel his mouth going dry. “Where’s Kuroko?”

 

“…!” It was Akashi this time who immediately reacted to the instructor’s words. He whipped his head sideways, his mouth gaping for a fraction of a second as he stared at Nijimura in utter shock, and then quickly pushed his body forward, aiming to run in search of the bluenette if the older male hadn’t grabbed him by the shoulder to stop him.

 

“We parted ways with Tetsu-kun on our way to the dorms,” explained Momoi, her features suddenly growing paler as she started to connect the dots in her head. “He said he wanted to pass by the c-cafeteria first before returning to his room.”

 

“Momoi, Murasakibara, go check the generator room and try to restore the electric power, if possible,” started commanding Nijimura, taking from the holster hidden underneath his suit’s jack a handgun. He readily placed it in Murasakibara’s hands. “Take this with you to keep you two safe. Just in case, okay?”

 

Both Murasakibara and Momoi gave an awkward and stiff nod with their heads and started running towards the building where the generator was located.

 

“No matter what kind of excuses you try to throw at me now, you owe _me_ an explanation, Nijimura-san,” said Akashi, his heterochromatic eyes seething as he glared at the instructor. “I won’t take a no as an answer this time. Tell me what’s happening with Tetsuya right this moment!”

 

“Do you really want to chitchat here while there’s an assassination attempt going around in school grounds?” groaned Nijimura while rolling his eyes around. As he saw the dead serious glint in Akashi’s eyes, he groaned once again while ruffling the back of his hair with one of his hands. “Arghh! Compared to Kuroko’s family, your father and grandparents are saints! Is that answer enough for the time being!?”

 

“Not at all, but I’ll pretend it is for now,” acknowledged Akashi, he and Nijimura setting off once again – this time with Aomine, Midorima and Haizaki right behind them.

 

“Nijimura-san, what do you mean by ‘assassination attempt’?” asked Aomine, his hands tightly closed into fists as he quickened his pace just the slightest and positioned himself beside the instructor. “And why Tetsu, out of everyone in this school!?”

 

“Like I said, it’s freaking family reasons,” exasperatedly groaned Nijimura. “Or his parents came to do the deed themselves or they instructed one of their minions to do it. Either way it goes, someone has come to kill Kuroko and you can bet your ass they’re only going to leave once they get it done.”

 

“He’s a Bounty, isn’t he?” asked Akashi, sideways glancing at Nijimura. “Tetsuya’s a Bounty, this school is his prison and becoming a Bounty Hunter his sentence. Isn’t it?”

 

“…” Nijimura grudgingly bit the inside of his cheek and he could suddenly taste bitter in his mouth – and no, it wasn’t the irony flavour of blood. It was his answer. “…Yes.”

 

Aomine and Midorima exchanged a quick glance between themselves, the latter pushing his glasses back in place due to all the running. Haizaki softly whistled, mumbling ‘and here I was thinking I’m the biggest delinquent that has ever stepped inside of this school’ afterwards.

 

“Hold it!” instructed Nijimura, raising his closed fist in the air to urge all of them to stop.

 

Cautiously, Nijimura craned his head forward and took a peek to the short corridor that connected that area with the cafeteria. The corridor was as dark as the ones they had been running through, only occasionally illuminated with lightning and thunder to silence their footsteps. He could see a dark mass further down the corridor, almost near the closed door.

 

“Listen closely now,” whispered Nijimura, urging all of them to come closer. “Unfortunately, teachers are only allowed to carry one weapon with them. It’s now with Murasakibara. We’re all completely weaponless here. That said, don’t let yourselves get killed. Kuroko doesn’t need any more weight on his back.”

 

“Heh… He won’t if he’s dead already,” snickered Haizaki, but he was powerful punched in the stomach. “Ouch! What was that for, Daiki!?”

 

“Shut the fuck up already,” hissed Aomine with a hushed voice. “Actually, go do shit somewhere else! We’ve got this covered and don’t need you distracting us!”

 

“This is too interesting to miss so fuck you,” hissed Haizaki back in the same hushed tone. He stuck his tongue out at Aomine and then turned his head the other way.

 

“Whatever it is that’s in there, it’s not going to move much more than it is already,” said Akashi after having thrown a quick glance at the corridor. “With the noise Daiki and Shougo are making, if it was going to attack us, it would have done so already.”

 

The group silently got up from their crouched positions and cautiously started moving deeper into the dark corridor. They could hear some light shuffling coming from inside of the cafeteria but the black mass remained as still as always. Once lightning burst outside, the identity of the black mass was finally unveiled.

 

Midorima took the lead and approached the fallen man, covered from head to toes in black garments. Blood was pooling around him and the wall behind him was smeared in both blood and small pieces of brain matter. His eyes were still open as thin rivers of blood continued to flow down from the bullet hole in his forehead.

 

“Someone in there has a gun and I can only pray for it to still being in the right side,” mumbled Nijimura as they continued their slow walk towards the cafeteria’s doors.

 

The rustling and clattering were growing louder and clearer. Hasty footsteps. The clatter of chairs and tables being moved and bumped into. A loud and pained cry.

 

“Tetsuya!” yelled Akashi, quickening his pace and slamming the double doors wide open. Aomine was right behind him, rushing and panicking as much as him.

 

The cafeteria had been turned into a messy, bloody war scenario. Tables had been upturned and the chairs had been spread everywhere in the midst of running and evading. Trays and tableware, usually neatly stored in the open kitchen area where food was served to the students, had been thrown out of order in the floor, most of them drinking the blood of the corpse eagle-spread on the floor. Another man was lying on top of a sideways table, blood still dribbling down through the wooden surface and forming a dark red puddle in the floor.

 

Kuroko was pushing a man against a table, one of his hands strongly holding the assailant’s neck against the wooden surface while the other one stabbed a kitchen knife down to the hilt in the convulsing man’s eye socket.

 

There was a sudden clicking sound. A sound that didn’t pass by unheard of by both the newly arrived group and Kuroko, who let the corpse slip away from his hands down to the floor. When Akashi saw one of the intruders pointing an assault rifle in Kuroko’s direction, his brain automatically knew how to act and his body didn’t hesitate in following its instructions.

 

Akashi gave a short run towards one of the closest chairs, his body slightly lowered to avoid being seen by the assailant. Once he reached the target, he gave a powerful kick to the chair, who went clattering and spinning around to the middle of the cafeteria.

 

Akashi had experienced Kuroko unconscious attempts to kill him enough times to know that the bluenette would fruitfully use the opportunity provided to him. The assailant had been distracted by the sudden movement of the chair and the rifle’s aim had followed said distraction, leaving the man wide open to Kuroko’s unexpected killer moves – in the most literal of senses.

 

“Arrrrgh!!” screamed the man, the same knife that had taken the life of his companion now stabbed in his chest. Kuroko kicked the back of the man’s knees, who awkwardly tumbled forward, and then took a hold of his head. With a loud crack, the assailant’s limp body fully succumbed on the floor.

 

Akashi gave a quick swipe through the large room with his eyes and then released a sigh. If the intruders had all came for Kuroko after having cut off the electricity, then they had surely all been neutralised, as everyone that remained standing were those that belonged to the school.

 

“Wait, Tetsuya!” yelled Akashi out of the blue, when he saw Kuroko starting to run towards the kitchen area further inside of the cafeteria. No, not towards the kitchen area – it was the backdoor placed inside of the kitchen area. “Are you just going to run away now?”

 

“Me, run away?” breathe Kuroko, coming to a halt in the middle of the cafeteria. His trembling back remained turned in Akashi’s direction. “I’ve been running away my whole life! Running away from my guilty consciousness! Running away from the ghosts of every person I’ve killed! Running away from what my parents want me to be! From what society and the Bounty Hunter Organisation say I am! Running away from Aomine-kun and Momoi-san! From Nijimura-san and Shirogane-san! Running away from you! And from me… I’m sick and tired of running away from everything and everyone… I’m just… so, so t-tired…”

 

Kuroko had never seemed as small as of now, with his pale, bloodied fists clenched tight and his slender shoulders trembling in both frustration and sadness.

 

Akashi had already lost count of how many times throughout those two short months the two of them had wrestled around due to his unannounced visits to Kuroko’s room. Several times had Kuroko attempted to kill him by accident and several times had Akashi defended himself in return.

 

That’s why he knew.

 

Kuroko was kind by default. And there was no space for kindness in the life of a Bounty… much like there was no space for one acquainted with killing in the world of regular citizens or a criminal in the world of Bounty Hunters. Kindness had stripped Kuroko away from a place to where he could belong.

 

The usually gentle word ‘kindness’ had never seemed so twisted and dark, a thief that robbed the wronged ones from their dignity and happiness.

 

“If you don’t want to run away, then what do you want to do?” asked Akashi, stopping right behind Kuroko.

 

“What is it that someone like me _can_ do?” snorted Kuroko with a tearstained voice.

 

“Well, for starters, you have tutoring in the morning after having overslept,” started Akashi, slowly walking around the bluenette so as to stand in front of him. “Daiki will continue partnering up with you for the afternoon lessons. Nijimura-san will keep on yelling at you for vomiting in the middle in his classes. Satsuki will spend her breaks fawning over you. And I need you inside of that room. I was thinking of training my lock picking skills on your room’s door. That way you won’t be able to say that I’m not being productive with my time. See? I think you have loads of things you can do, Tetsuya.”

 

“I do… don’t I?” sobbed Kuroko, wiping the tears running down his cheek with the back of his bloodied hand. He felt like laughing but only sobs croaked out of his throat. “I really do…”

 

There was a new flash of lightning outside, shortly accompanied by the thunder. There was the lightning, the loud explosion of the thunder… and then light returned to the bloodied insides of the cafeteria.


	3. A Bounty is rarely pure and never simple

“I’ll leave Kuroko in your care for the time being, then,” said Nijimura, giving a small nod of acknowledgement as he readied himself to part ways with both Akashi and Kuroko in front of the redhead’s dorm room. He also got a small nod in return from Akashi and then switched his gaze solemnly to the small bluenette. “I need to take care of some phone calls and sort out all of that… well, _mess_. Shirogane-san was also supposed to spend the weekend away but I’ve already contacted him and he’ll be able to return around midday tomorrow. Until then, don’t do anything stupid. Okay, Kuroko?”

 

“Yes…” acknowledged Kuroko with a small voice and an even smaller nod of his head. His teal eyes were stuck on the floor.

 

“This might be something hard to ask, but try to get some sleep,” finally said Nijimura, gently ruffling Kuroko’s hair before he turned around on his heels and started walking through the corridor.

 

Both of them watched for a few moments as Nijimura walked away. Then, Akashi opened the door further and made way for Kuroko to enter inside of his room.

 

“Having you spend the night in my room makes me feel like we’ve returned to the opening ceremony day, in an alternate timeline where you actually become my propriety in order to remain in the Bounty Hunter Academy,” said Akashi in a quite chipper way, for Kuroko’s chagrin. “Maybe we’ll actually need to use that card up our sleeves now to keep things as they are.”

 

“Spending the night in Nijimura-san’s room would be safer,” deadpanned Kuroko as he hastily turned around and started to walk back to the door. He had already opened the door a small gap when another pair of hands appeared from behind and slammed it shut again.

 

“You heard what Nijimura-san said,” objected Akashi, a smile on his face as he peered down to Kuroko right from behind him. “You’re in my care right now. I can’t have you leave my room and risk having you get hurt. Or risk letting you run away. Or something worse than that.”

 

“Sometimes you’re evil,” sighed Kuroko, resigning himself to his own fate.

 

“You say that but you don’t really mean it,” chuckled Akashi, lowering one of his hands to the doorknob and locking it. He then motioned both of his hands to the bluenette and started pulling at his school uniform, easily removing the jacket from his slender shoulders.

 

“W-W-What are you doing…!?” fumbled Kuroko, his features turning bright red as he hastily turned around and slammed his back against the locked door, his arms crossing over his chest to prevent his clothes from being removed.

 

“Your uniform is more red than blue or white,” shortly said Akashi, his eyes quickly running through Kuroko’s semblance, from his head down to this feet and then back up again.

 

“I can change on my own, thank you very much,” nearly hissed Kuroko, quickly putting his school jacket back in place and straightening his bloodied clothes.

 

“You can but you won’t,” interrupted Akashi, putting himself in front of Kuroko once again and barring his path back inside of the room. He motioned one of his hands forward and took a hold of the bluenette’s left upper arm. Kuroko softly winced and flinched at the touch. “When Shintarou asked you if you had been hurt, you told him no. If you want others to trust you, then you should also try to trust others, Tetsuya. True trust is not a unilateral thing.”

 

“…”

 

“It seems that there’s much more than math and biology tutoring to be done here,” softly sighed Akashi, gently releasing the bluenette’s arm. “Rome wasn’t built in one day and the past can’t be erased in such a little period of time either, so small steps will be the key to success. Why don’t you start by taking those clothes off, take a warm and comforting shower and then I tend to that wound?”

 

“I’m sorry if this might sound offensive, Akashi-kun,” started Kuroko, his face returning to his usual expressionless demeanour in the midst of his discomfort. “But did you really think that starting to undress me without any warning would make me trust you?”

 

“It’s not like I never saw a naked male body and I’m pretty sure that it wouldn’t be the first time you’d be naked in front of someone else,” pointed out Akashi with a quick shrug of his shoulders. When he saw Kuroko opening his mouth to contest once again, he readily cut him off. “But yes, it can be a bit disconcerting to suddenly start being undressed by someone else, I guess. I shouldn’t have done it, I’m sorry. Now that’s we’ve settled that, could you go to the bathroom and have your shower? That wound will not treat itself, at least in a safe, hygienic way.”

 

“If you dare to take a peek while I’m in there, no matter what kind of excuse you give, I’ll make sure to really step on you in the worst possible place in your next unwelcomed visit to my bedroom,” warned Kuroko as he passed by Akashi and walked towards the bathroom’s door.

 

“I appreciate the warning, Tetsuya,” said Akashi with a smirk on his lips. When he heard Kuroko groan and then slam the door behind himself, he couldn’t help but chuckle at it.

 

It was fun to aggravate and annoy Kuroko, but only because it gave Akashi proofs that he could bring some sort of emotion out of the bluenette. Anger was better than disdain, but it definitely still had a certain bittersweet taste to it. He didn’t want him angry or annoyed, Akashi wanted to see Kuroko have as much fun as he had while paying the unwelcomed visits.

 

 _But there’s no way Kuroko would be able to have fun if he sees us as enemies, would he?_ , inwardly sighed Akashi, walking towards his wardrobe as the noise of water showering down reached his ears.

 

Everything made so much sense now – painfully so. Kuroko was staying in the Bounty Hunter Academy because he was a captured Bounty himself. He had never left the school grounds during their days off because he wasn’t allowed to exit the school where he’s being imprisoned. He never received any phone calls because everyone he knows, his family, are Bounties like him.

 

 _My match against him after the opening ceremony?,_ said Akashi in the back of his mind, a deep frown creasing his features as he pulled some of his smallest street clothes out of his wardrobe. _It was a farce, utterly staged. They couldn’t risk revealing his true identity as a prisoner, so they had him fight for a dorm room. But they couldn’t risk him hurting any of the students either so they had him have a match against the new student who had come in first place in the entrance exams and prayed I wouldn’t end up dead._

 

Being the Bounty that he is, whether bad or good student, Kuroko was left under Nijimura’s wing, the instructor that was also in charge of the best students. Having the bluenette surrounded by those that excelled in the bounty hunting trade, even if just students, was the equivalent to be placed in an individualised and personalised high-security prison cell.

 

 _I no longer know if Nijimura-san was being sincere or if forcing a prison guard duty on me when he told me to befriend Tetsuya,_ inwardly said Akashi with a certain annoyance. He sighed. _And if I feel like this, then I can’t imagine how Tetsuya must have felt every time one of us approached him, for whichever reason it might have been for._

 

A knife hidden underneath his pillow truly was the safest route to follow. Kuroko was surrounded by those who were authorised to apprehend or kill him if he did something bad, in accordance with the law. And Kuroko knew that his presence in the Bounty Hunter Academy would be seen as a betrayal by his Bounty family. He was a deserter and three can keep a secret if two of them are dead. It was easy to guess which side was to be sent six feet underground.

 

“Um, Akashi-kun…?”

 

It was Kuroko’s voice that made Akashi’s thoughts come to a stop. When he looked in the bathroom’s direction, he could see a damp light blue bird nest peeking out from a small gap in the door.

 

“Clothes, right?” breathed Akashi, trying to push his thoughts further back inside of his brain. It wasn’t something actually that hard to do, as Kuroko’s appearance was a good source of distraction from more grievous matters. His wet blue locks, still dripping water every now and then, his usually pale skin slightly flushed due to the warm shower and his shyness as he tried to hide as much as possible while still making his presence known – yes, definitely a tantalising distraction. He walked over to the bathroom, the clothes on his hands. “We don’t have very different heights but I did try to choose clothes with smaller sizes. Were you careful with your wound while washing yourself?”

 

“It’s just a scratch, Akashi-kun,” sighed Kuroko, rolling his eyes around just the slightest as he took the clothes being offered to him in his hands.

 

“That’s up to me to decide,” said Akashi with a serious tone in his voice. Before he dropped his arms back to the sides of his body, he took one of his hands to Kuroko’s head and gently ran his fingers through his silky, wet locks of hair. “Don’t forget to properly dry your hair before coming out or you might catch a cold.”

 

“…”

 

“What is it? Did I do or say something weird again?” inquired Akashi, an eyebrow slightly arched as he saw the way Kuroko had stopped his retreat back to inside of the bathroom and simply stared at him with a complex expression on his face.

 

“Calling it weird would be an understatement but… No, never mind,” started Kuroko but he stopped midway with his sentence, softly shaking his head afterwards while fully returning inside of the bathroom. He then closed the door behind himself, only the soft and spaced sounds of fabric rustling coming from inside.

 

“…?” As he tried to figure out what exactly that expression had meant, Akashi dived back inside of his room and went for the nightstand next to his bed. He didn’t have any first-aid kit in his room but he did have a few bandages and rubbing alcohol there. Akashi really had given good use to both as the cat-like bluenette every now and then managed to get a few scratches and cuts on him. “Ahaha, now the tide has changed.”

 

When Kuroko got out of the bathroom, dressed in simple shorts and t-shirt that he had readily noticed to be of expensive brands, he found Akashi sitting in his bed, casually waiting for him. He sighed.

 

“As you can see, it really is just a small scratch,” said Kuroko as he walked over to near the redhead and stopped in front of him, pulling the short sleeve of the t-shirt a little bit so as to reveal the gash better. “It’s not even bleeding anymore.”

 

“Bacteria and virus don’t really care about the continuity of the bleeding,” pointed out Akashi as he patted the mattress to urge the bluenette to sit next to him. “But rubbing alcohol and a protective layer may be another story.”

 

“Suit yourself…” sighed Kuroko, motioning his body forward and softly sitting down next to Akashi.

 

Both of them remained in silence as Akashi gently disinfected the gash with a small bandage soaked in rubbing alcohol. When Akashi finished placing the bandages around the wound, he let one of his fingers slide down through Kuroko’s arm, stopping on top of a much older scar.

 

“How did you get this one?” asked Akashi, tapping a couple of times on the scar as to indicate what he was talking about. The moment he saw a small frown crease Kuroko’s brows, he couldn’t help but sigh. “I would feel much more satisfied with the truth, but if an abridged version makes you feel better, go right ahead, Tetsuya.”

 

“…I fell down when riding a bicycle. That’s the abridged version,” said Kuroko, turning his face the other way to avoid looking at Akashi. “The official version… A shard of glass was stabbed there when my mother used too many explosives to detonate the door of a safe and it ended up blowing up with the windows too. But that’s something you should already know from the recordings of all the interrogatories they did to me before I came to this school.”

 

“I only found out you’re a Bounty a couple of hours ago, Tetsuya,” sighed Akashi, dropping his hands to on top of his upper legs. “And it’s not just me. All of the other guys also didn’t know that you’re a Bounty.”

 

“…Eh?” interjected Kuroko, whipping his head around so as to look once again at the redhead. His teal eyes were wide open in surprise. “Wait, what? Well, yes, I knew that Aomine-kun and the others didn’t know about me. Aomine-kun is quite easy to figure out and I’m sure that Haizaki-kun would be strangely interested in me if he also knew about it. But I was quite sure that Nijimura-san or Shirogane-san himself had told you about me on the day of the opening ceremony… I mean… They don’t really come off as teachers who would purposely put their students at risk by withholding information…”

 

“Oh yes, I can assure you that they didn’t tell me anything about you, no matter how much I pressed them for it,” scoffed Akashi, part of him still annoyed at all the secrets about Kuroko that his instructor and the headmaster were keeping from him. “But I’m no idiot, Tetsuya. All of the students who lost their matches on the first day are now attending other schools. All but one. I didn’t know in what regards but I did know that you weren’t just a regular student. I wasn’t expecting you to be a Bounty, though.”

 

“And I’m not,” readily denied Kuroko, softly shaking his head. “Both of my parents are, as well as a big portion of those who they work together with. But as my existence and work were never made public, I don’t have and never had a bounty over my head.”

 

“Then, when Nijimura-san acknowledged that you were being made prisoner here in the Bounty Hunter Academy…” started Akashi, a frown appearing on his features. “What exactly did that mean?”

 

“I’m not a Bounty but I did my fair share of crime…” confessed Kuroko, lowering his gaze down to the floor out of shame and guilt. “You saw the cafeteria with your own eyes… I… used to do that nearly every night… But, no matter what sort of thing my parents taught me or what kind of person I was tasked with killing, I hated all of it. The guilt was starting to swallow me whole. So I betrayed my family and sent my application to take the exams of this school, together with a confession of all of my crimes. Since I’m a minor and can’t be sent to the usual Bounty jail, Shirogane-san decided to become my guardian and enrolled me here as a student. Obviously with the condition that I would wash my hands off of the family business and use all of my knowledge to become a respectful Bounty Hunter.”

 

“Haaaaah…” sighed Akashi with a tired voice, lowering his head down so as to lean it on his hands. “You have no idea how big of a fright you caused me today, Tetsuya…”

 

“…” Fiddling a little bit with the hem of his shorts, Kuroko kept on staring down, this time to his own lap and hands. “Was this nagging suspicion of yours what made you constantly follow me around through the school, even going as far as breaking into my room while I was sleeping? Now the cat’s out of the bag so you can stop with your unannounced visits in the morning. Y-You can just leave me alone… uh… and…”

 

“Tetsuya?” called Akashi, raising his head once again when he heard a small sob coming from next to him. When he looked sideways to the bluenette, he saw tears once again streaming down from his gorgeous teal eyes.

 

“I’m s-so pathetic…” sobbed Kuroko, his voice quivering as he closed his hands on the shorts’ fabric. “I know very well how my parents are and with what kind of intentions they r-raised me with… So how come part of me was hoping they would just ignore my betrayal and let me live my life in the way I see more fit? Why did I hold onto the stupid illusion that they loved me, a tool, enough to not seek my death after what I did?”

 

Akashi had never had the opportunity of interacting with others’ emotions while growing up and he was even less aware of what sort of reaction he should display while Kuroko, a usually emotionless person, was suffering so much. But if there was something that he knew painfully well… it was family relationships and the burden of the lack of thereof.

 

“My father disowned me because I choose to become a Bounty Hunter rather than proceed with normal studies and succeed him in the family business,” said Akashi, motioning one of his hands forward and cupping the bluenette’s face with it. He gently rubbed his thumb against Kuroko’s cheek, cleaning the tear going down his features. “Heh, he even went as far as to station two security guards in front of the cemetery in order to keep his word on banning me from visiting my mother’s grave. Family can be a really detestable matter sometimes, can’t it?”

 

“H-He’ll never let you return?” asked Kuroko in between some soft sniffs and sobs.

 

“If I abandon my intentions of becoming a Bounty Hunter, quit this school and ingress back on a normal one, he might let me return with just a couple of repercussions,” said Akashi with a quick shrug of his shoulders, cleaning another tear rolling down the bluenette’s cheek. “But is returning to what I was trying so desperately to run away from what I want to do with my life? Would that make me happy in the long run? It wouldn’t. I prefer being a nameless orphan rather than going back there. I think that you’re also of the same option, right, Tetsuya?”

 

“…”

 

“What is it that you want to do, Tetsuya?” asked Akashi, shortening the distance between their face as he kept gently stroking his features with his thumb. “What is the path that you, as an individual, want to take, regardless of the wishes and opinions of everyone else around you?”

 

Kuroko silently parted his lips but he did not know how to answer that question. What was it that he wanted to do? What was it that he really, truly, undoubtedly wanted to do with his own life? What was he seeking with every step forward that he took?

 

“You don’t need to answer, Tetsuya, it was more of a rhetorical question than one with an actual solution,” chuckled Akashi as he observed the bluenette at a lack of words. He parted his hand from his plump cheek and gave a gentle pinch to it. “Now that you’ve stopped crying and have calmed down, why don’t you to get some rest? Nijimura-san did say that you should try to sleep, even if just a little bit.”

 

“Nn…” Kuroko gave a small nod with his head and readied himself to get up from the bed. However, two hands strongly grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him down to the mattress. “Akashi-kun…?”

 

“Nijimura-san told you to spend the night here so why are you trying to escape now?” inquired Akashi, a mischievous smirk on his lips. He gave a yank to his covers and bed sheets and placed them on top of the bluenette’s laid down body, quickly snuggling them against him. “And you don’t need to worry about me. I need to certify myself that a certain someone doesn’t attempt to run away so I plan on spending the night reading some books.”

 

“You also have absolutely no trust in me…” sighed Kuroko, pulling the bed sheets upwards so he could cover his blushing features a bit more.

 

“No, it’s because I trust your abilities that I can’t give myself the luxury of lowering my guard and fall asleep,” confessed Akashi, his smirk morphing into a soft smile as he ruffled the little bit of light blue-coloured hair visible in between the sheets. “Is the light okay like this or should I try to lower it a little bit?”

 

“It’s okay,” almost mumbled Kuroko due to the fabric placed over his mouth.

 

Kuroko saw from in between the bed sheets as Akashi departed from near the bed, walked to his desk, picked up a couple of books and then returned to near the bed. He placed the small pile of books on the floor and then sat down next to them, his back leaned over the side of the bed.

 

 _Really, what am I supposed to do now?,_ inwardly sighed Kuroko as he adjusted the blankets around him once again. He had been doing it for such a long time that he no longer could remember when the last time he had slept during the night was. _No, I do remember… I remember Mayu-nii snuggling me in bed, just like Akashi-kun did. Hehe… I guess not everything is bad memories._

 

Though Akashi had called it a rhetorical question, it was indeed a question that should be eventually answered. As their attempt had miserably failed, Kuroko was sure that his parents would relentlessly continue to formulate plans and schemes to get him killed. Only when he was forever unable to speak would they stop. How would Shirogane and Nijimura react when they get to hear that unwelcomed news? Them and those in close proximity to Kuroko. He had a feeling that neither Akashi nor the rest of the ‘gang’ would appreciate having the constant threat of another assassination attempt floating around them, even if they weren’t the target in question.

 

 _What is it that I want to do?,_ asked Kuroko in the back of his mind. He took a deep breath and his lungs were suddenly filled with Akashi’s scent. When he exhaled, it came accompanied by a small smile. _Well, for the time being, I guess I can give Akashi-kun a chance._

 

As Akashi was halfway through the first book in the small pile, he felt a soft bump against the back of his head. When he turned around to see what had come crashing against him, it was now his time to nearly bump against Kuroko. He had somehow silently crawled to the edge of the bed in the midst of his sleeping, the bed sheet all snuggled around his body.

 

“You’ll fall out of the bed at this rate, Tetsuya,” chuckled Akashi, gently running his fingertips through his messy blue strands. His touch lingered and lingered, their close proximity not satisfying him nearly enough to be considered satisfactory even. Not even when his face was less than half an inch away from Kuroko’s did he found what he’d been yearning. Akashi sighed and then turned around once again, searching for the page where he had left off. “I truly dislike this… No matter how much I read or study, there’s nothing around me that can explain what I’m to do with all of this _hate_ bottled up inside.”

 

-.-

 

“Tsk! What a waste of mercenaries…” She clicked her tongue in annoyance and strongly closed the small laptop on her lap. She threw the electronic device to behind the park bench and then threw her own body against the man silently sitting next to her. “Honey, Tetsuya ruined my plans again!!”

 

“You should have known it was going to end up like that,” he answered in the form of a small sigh. He craned his neck slightly to the left, trying to prevent his wife’s long light blue hair from covering his vision. The novel was at a really good part and he didn’t want to stop before he reached its climax.

 

“I know, that’s why I hate it so much!” She stomped her heels on the dirt road, almost as if a small child throwing a tantrum because she couldn’t get the doll she wanted so desperately. “So much of our time and resources thrown away because Tetsuya decided to go through his rebellious phase out of the blue. Mayu-kun says that his personality is a nearly identical copy of yours but you don’t have a single rebellious bone in your whole body!”

 

“He probably got that trait from you,” he said in the most casual voice of voices.

 

“Ahh~ And he has so much potential too…” she grumbled with a grudging voice, separating her body from her husband’s and crossing her arms over her chest. She gave a couple of nods with her head and then continued talking. “I guess to get the best criminals possible, inbreeding is truly the key. The problem is that the worst they are, the more unpredictable they end up growing up into. Ahhh! I want my Tetsuya back!!”

 

She got up as suddenly as lightning, her long light blue hair fluttering behind her as she quickly walked towards the bench opposite to the one where she had been sitting on while assisting to the live recording of the assault to the Bounty Hunter Academy by the mercenaries that she had hired.

 

“Mayu-kun!” she yelled as she stopped in front of the bench where a young man was leisurely laid down on, a small book open hovering above his face. “Bring my runaway son back home!”

 

“Just let him do whatever he wants,” sighed Mayuzumi Chihiro, his eyes moving up and down as he kept reading the light novel.

 

“Not you too!!” she sobbed, crossing her arms over her chest again. She turned around and let her body fall down on the bench, sitting right on top of Mayuzumi’s stomach. She didn’t even seem to have noticed the low pained groan he released. “He’s my son and he’s a minor, so I have the right to control his life as much as I please! And I want him back! So use whatever methods you want. Tied up and gagged. Beaten half to death. With one or two limbs missing. I don’t care! Just bring him back to me so I can cut that slippery tongue of his myself!”

 

“If it’s his tongue you want, I don’t mind getting it for you,” said Mayuzumi, slowly pushing his body away from underneath her. Once he managed to get himself free, he straightened his sitting position and placed the closed book on his lap. “But he’s not going to give it away for free. He’ll probably ask for your heads in exchange.”

 

“If it means he would continue doing what he was born to do, then I don’t mind offering him my head in a silver platter,” she scoffed while rolling her eyes around. A happy and satisfied grin suddenly popped up in her face when she looked over to her husband. “Isn’t that right, honey?”

 

He simply silently nodded in acknowledgement.

 

“So how’s it going to be, Mayu-kun?” she asked once again, a knowing smirk on her lips. Her teal eyes were more that of a venomous vixen than of a celestial being. “Will you go fetch Tetsuya or not?”

 

“If you insist,” sighed Mayuzuki while rolling his eyes around. He grabbed the light novel with one of his hands, which he casually placed over his shoulder as he stood up from the bench. “Well, I do have some pending businesses with both Tetsuya and the Bounty Hunter Academy so all of your begging is coming at a good time.”

 

“Ohh~ Is it revenge time, Mayu-kun?” she asked, her teal eyes nearly sparkling in excitement and anticipation.

 

“Maybe,” answered Mayuzumi with a quick shrug of his shoulders. “But if I told you the end of the book, the plot would be ruined, wouldn’t it? You will never be able to rip spoilers out of _my_ tongue, that’s for sure.”

 

_Then again, I’m not as unpredictable as Tetsuya so I’m sure she knows that it’s going to involve the Akashi household in some sort of way._

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to read more chapters and more fanfictions, including the ones Ao3 has deleted, go [here](https://mafyswritinghut.blogspot.com/). (construction ongoing)  
> New blog with all fics, chapters, webnovels and explanations why I decided to not even put a fight and leave Ao3 instead.


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